The present invention relates generally to electric switches for small appliances, and is more particularly concerned with the provision of a rotary switch primarily for use with electric fans to control "off-on", as well as fan motor speeds, namely, low, medium, and high. Switches of this general type are old and well known in the art, reference being made, for example, to the switches disclosed in Hutt U.S. Pat. No. 2,813,158 issued Nov. 12, 1957, and Mongeau U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,637 issued Aug. 30, 1977. However, there has long been a need for switches of this type that are less labor intensive insofar as manufacture and assembly are concerned, and which achieve maximum compactness.
One of the primary manufacturing problems that exists in switches similar to those disclosed in the aforesaid Hutt and Mongeau patents results from the fact that the leads from the motor are connected to switch terminals located at the four corners of the switch. This requires the worker who is connecting these leads to the switch to rotate the switch three times after inserting the first wire in order to insert the remaining three wires, it being understood that three of the wires coming from the motor are output leads defining low, medium and high motor speeds, while the fourth is the input lead of the power cord. In any event, the fact that the leads have heretofore been connected to the four corners of the switch very definitely increases the time of assembly. In addition, where the leads are connected to switch terminals located remotely from each other, it has heretofore been necessary to comb down and bunch and tie the four separate wires in order to make sure that they do not come in engagement with the fan blade.
Obviously where the terminals are located at the corners of the switch, it is not possible to use ribbon cable for electrically interconnecting the motor and the switch. For obvious reasons, use of ribbon cable would minimize assembly time.